Shaving heads, raising money for St. Baldrick's in St. Charles

With no reservations at all, 10-year-old Isaac Parris of Montgomery led the charge Saturday as he was the first to jump in the chair to get his head shaved at Alley 64 in St. Charles. The bar and restaurant was holding its annual St. Baldrick's Foundation signature head-shaving event to raise funds and awareness for lifesaving childhood cancer research.

Isaac, who is one of five 2016 St. Baldrick's Ambassadors, was being shaved for his fourth time. A cancer survivor himself, he endured nine rounds of chemotherapy, 30 rounds of radiation and brain surgery after being diagnosed with medulloblastoma. He had to learn to walk again and lost his hair four separate times.

As of today, Isaac shows no evidence of disease.

Shaving for St. Baldrick's has become a yearly tradition for Isaac, who begins growing out his hair months in advance for the event.

As he gets older, he has begun to understand cancer more and to realize the side effects that came along with his cancer treatment.

It's this knowledge and a desire to help other kids with cancer that motivates him to raise money and shave every year.

More than 70 people registered to get their head shaved this year including a group of students from Isaac's class, with four of them being girls.

According to Isaac's mom, April Schippers, the group reached its goal of raising nearly $40,000 to support the foundation's mission to find the best treatments for kids with cancer.

Every three minutes, a child is diagnosed with cancer; one in five children will not survive. Those who do survive often suffer long-term effects from treatment too harsh for their developing bodies.